Tag Archives: where to eat near penn station

Albert Hall Tavern- Back for Brunch

9 Mar

Yes… I am writing another post about Albert Hall Tavern.  I can’t let new meals come up and not try them!

We managed to get there to try their brunch.  I was hoping a bit for some bumped up, fancy brunch choices.  But it’s mostly just the classics here.  Here’s the menu:

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Then they have a number of items from their dinner menu.

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Mike chose to get the smoked salmon bagel, which came with capers and smoked cream cheese.  The salmon was REALLY fresh and full of flavor.

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They had no fried potatoes of any kind (bummer), so we split my second favorite hangover brunch food… a side of the bacon (extra crispy).

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I got the eggs benedict with Canadian Bacon and “tomato hollandaise.” I’m not sure what made the hollandaise tomato, but it was good.  And the ham and eggs were cooked perfectly.  I wish it were served on a potato pancake, but that’s probably just my incredible fascination with fried potatoes during brunch.

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Albert Hall Tavern is one of the very few places in the neighborhood that do all-day brunch.  It has a lot of classic items, and while I like a little more panache in my brunch, this was still a very good classic brunch menu with well cooked comfort food.  (I just wish they had damn good potatoes! Or something like The Heap from Thumbs Up Diner.  I feel like Chef Bill could do a damn good heap)

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Albert Hall Tavern- A new, fantastic arrival

7 Jan

There are VERY few places that I dine at and then run right home to blog about.  In fact, this may very well be the first time (I left this place 15 minutes ago).  Albert Hall Tavern is located at 508 9th Ave (between 38th and 39th Streets).  Their site (www.alberthalltavern.com) isn’t yet live (which is hardly surprisingly, since they have been open less than ONE WEEK).  Their phone number is 646-490-4803, however, if you want to get in touch.

I live in a neighborhood that isn’t well known for go-to dining establishments.  Sure, there are delicious places in Times Square, and there are a number of Hell’s Kitchen restaurants that are go-to, but the area on 9th Avenue near Port Authority isn’t exactly known as a mecca for cuisine.

So when Mike and I noticed that a new tavern was opening up in a space that was recently a short lived velvet rope night club (non-sensical for this area), we checked out the menu.  It looked great.  Some really delicious sounding dishes (bone marrow, short rib ravioli, a Thursday special just called “pig”) and a nice looking inside (that we could see when we peered through the window) made us both say to each other, “we need to try this place.” (They opened on New Year’s Eve.)

So tonight, when my coworkers wanted to go out for happy hour, I suggested we try the new place. When we walked in, it seemed a little fancy, but with a great draft beer selection and some good rock music (the kind you just love to sing along to) playing. 

We quickly noticed that they had an interesting selection of beers, most of which we couldn’t pronounce, but sounded promising.  Our bartender (Brian, I think) mentioned that he appreciated our selections and quickly poured us our taps.  We all tried our beers and made various “wow” type sound.  We all mentioned how much we were each enjoying our various selections, however, one stood out;  Adam chose a German wheat beer, Weihenstephan.  Turns out, it’s the oldest brewery in the world (nearly 1,000 years old!) We all wound up ending with this beer and enjoying it thoroughly.

We also asked for the bone marrow appetizer, which included beets and braised beef.  (SOLD!)  It came and we all managed to give the bones extra scrapes, and commented on how delicious the braised beef was.  It was heavenly.   From start to finish.

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We struck up a conversation with our bartender about visiting the south (where he’s from) and I think we were all taken aback by how “at home” we immediately felt in this place.

One of the managers came up to us soon after and brought us artichoke dip, compliments of the chef.

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We were immediately impressed by the (obviously) homemade potato chips on top.  While we all wanted to dip them, they were too fragile, so they acted as a perfect crunchy topping as we ate this with our forks. 

I was thoroughly impressed.  As someone that LOVES artichokes and has eaten artichoke dip in many restaurants, I was really intrigued at how fresh the artichokes were, how unique this dip was, and how it didn’t have any of that mealy texture that is so popular in artichoke dip.  I’m not sure there was spinach in this.  It just tasted like fresh artichokes and cheese.

FAN. tastic.

We wound up chatting with the manager and the owner, and found out the future plans include making the back into a “game room” where they plan to serve whole suckling pigs to private parties.  They plan on making brunch a big deal in the next few weeks and plan on being open for lunch soon. 

I was so impressed by this place.  Fantastic beer selection, the food we tried was unique and delicious, and the staff was so hospitable and friendly.  It’s the kind of place I can see finally becoming my neighborhood go-to. 

They have shrimp by the pound where you can get a whole meal for about $10.  And we were advised to try their oysters.

When Mike got home from work, I actually debated turning right around and going back for dinner.

I’m sure I will be back soon.

Go. Now. Before the secret is out.

 

 

 

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Valentine’s Day at Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse

15 Mar

The first time Mike and I celebrated my birthday as a couple, he took me to Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse (on 9th Ave near 34th Street, also locations in Bayside and on West 56th Street).  I have been to some of the best steak restaurants in the city, so I was slightly skeptical when he was taking me to one that was not only right near my apartment, but also right near Penn station… not exactly a hot bed of great food choices.  My skepticism was soon relieved, however, as we had a fantastic meal there.  The most memorable part was the king crab legs.  Wow were these good! The BEST I have ever had.

So when Mike suggested we go back for a simple Valentine’s Day meal, I was totally game.  Uncle Jack’s also had been running a promotion that if you friended them on Facebook or added them on Twitter, they sent a $25 gift card. Score!  We were both more than happy to be fans after our last great meal.  I was also sent a “Lifestyle” card where I earn points for eating there.  It also happens to still be very close to our new apartment.  So… great last experience + gift card + rewards card + close to home = Valentine’s Day winner! They also didn’t have any crazy upcharged menu for the holiday AND promised a “free gift for the ladies” for dining on Valentine’s Day, so really this was the clear winner.

They do not have menus, however, they do have a big chalk board with all their main meals.  We were VERY sad to see that king crab legs were not on the menu, but our server quickly cheered us back up by informing us it was on the Specials menu.   

Score!  These were REALLY good, but not quite as good as last time.  Perhaps it was due to the seasonality.  We certainly enjoyed every last morsel, however.

Choosing the steak was tough. I was really tempted to go with the Kobe (compared to other restaurants, it was much more affordable), however, I’m still not convinced if the big upcharge for Kobe is worth it.  I keep saying I should try it, but I chicken out when I try to determine if double the price is worth it.  So we went with the “signature dish”: The  for 2.  I do love me a porterhouse. It’s hard to beat a steak that has BOTH New York Strip and Filet in one. 

This steak had the most amazing char I think I have ever tasted!  Throughout the meal, Mike and I were both trying to determine which of the two types of steak we liked better, but it was futile as they were both just SO GOOD.

We went with creamed spinach on the side and they really do creamed spinach right. Big fan! 

The worst part about the meal is when we had scraped every single last piece of edible material we could off the bone.  If I could have picked it up and noogled it, I would have!

And what would a Valentine’s Day be, especially at a steakhouse, without dessert? Unfortunately, the dessert menu is not posted online… so I’ll have to do this from memory.  I’m sure the menu had much better titles, and now that it’s a month later, I probably don’t remember as clearly… but here we go.

Mike went cheesecake.  It was exactly how I like cheesecake.  Not just thick cream cheese, but a little bit of a sour taste and more fluffy.  And the chocolate covered strawberry was definitely a great touch.

I went with, what else? the chocolate souffle cake.  I honestly can’t remember if this center was perfectly gooey or just okay… I believe at this point we were two bottles of wine in plus an amaretto for dessert (Hey! It was a holiday!) so the memory is a bit fuzzy.  I wish it were more memorable either way… but I don’t remember being at all disappointed.

We were promised a “special gift for the ladies” since it was Valentine’s Day.  Mike was hysterical as he asked for this and I received a little box of Russel Stover’s chocolates.  A nice little touch Uncle Jacks. Bravo.

Uncle Jacks also has some other interesting specials that I really would like to try if I had more money and wasn’t now on Weight Watchers… (wait! NYC Nom Nom is on Weight Watchers?! Oh yes… more on that later though.)  On Tuesdays they have half priced bottles of wine (all bottles if you’re a “Lifestyles” member, which you can sign up for on the site). Wednesdays are “Wine Tasting Wednesdays” when they do free tastings at the bar for two hours in each location (with complimentary fruit and cheese platters!).  Then Thursdays are “Ladies and Gents Nights” where they have complimentary tastes of “manly drinks” (scotch, port, whiskey, and bourbon) and “girly drinks” (cocktails and martinis) while serving their signature appetizers between 5pm and 7pm in NYC (6pm and 8pm in Bayside).  Wow! How great does that sound?!  I’ll have to check it out more and try to be good.  I love that they do these fun promotions.  Someone on their marketing team is quite creative.

Trust me, this place is great. Even without all the fun specials, it’s worth it. The fun specials just add more fun!  Try it… you won’t be disappointed.

Total Nom Points: 8 out of 10

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